Couple sentenced for failing to seek care for burned boy

Tuesday

Sep 10, 2019 at 8:14 AMSep 10, 2019 at 8:46 PM

CANTON — A man and woman got castigated by a judge for not seeking medical care for a boy who burned his leg.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione on Monday sentenced Antonio Naturile and Lisa Oswald each to three years probation and 300 hours of community service at the Stark County Humane Society while ordering them to have no contact with the victim.

Naturile, 39, and Oswald, 36, both of Jackson Township, had previously pleaded guilty to single counts of endangering children, a third-degree felony, punishable by up to three years in prison.

“Your child was burned,” Forchione scolded Oswald. “You did nothing.”

When the judge asked Oswald if she knew why he was so upset, the woman didn’t offer an answer. And when she didn’t satisfactorily answer a follow-up question about a potential prison term, Forchione became even angrier, ordering Oswald to have a seat in the gallery before he later asked her back to the front of the courtroom with her attorney.

Oswald then expressed remorse and also noted she had put ointment on the child’s burns.

Forchione still didn’t believe she understood the gravity of her decision to not seek medical attention for the boy and instead drive out of state the next day. Referring to photographs of the child’s injuries, he said, “They just sicken me.”

Naturile told the court he was sorry for his actions.

The victim was one of Oswald’s children but not related to Naturile, said Christy Donnelly, assistant Stark County prosecutor.

In January, the boy was cleaning out a trash can at home with a flammable cleaning product when fumes were accidentally ignited by a burning candle, Donnelly said. She said part of the child’s body caught fire.

But the boy wasn’t taken to the hospital or a doctor that day and he ended up spending 12 days at Akron Children’s Hospital, requiring skin graft surgery, the assistant prosecutor said.

Donnelly said she had recommended probation and not prison time. Neither defendant has a prior felony record, she said. Donnelly also said the sentence accomplished her primary objective — ensuring Oswald doesn’t have custody of the victim and her other children. A felony conviction also will make it difficult for her to regain custody in the future, Donnelly said.

Trip to New Jersey

When the burn incident happened, an adult at the home told the boy to go outside and roll in the snow, which he did to extinguish the fire, Donnelly said.

The boy and Oswald’s other children were told to stay home from school. Oswald and Naturile, meanwhile, drove someone to New Jersey, the assistant prosecutor said.

A teen sibling emailed a school counselor about the boy’s injury, which led to social workers being contacted. Law enforcement subsequently investigated, Donnelly said.

Donnelly said Naturile apparently feared that if they took the boy to the hospital or a doctor, Stark County Job and Family Services would get involved and Oswald would lose custody. The assistant prosecutor said that both Oswald and Naturile have a history with the agency.

“The reality is what caused this child’s injury had nothing to do with the (mother),” Donnelly said. “It was a fluke accident that could have happened to anyone, anywhere. It was what happened after the accident that was criminal.”

Other conditions

Forchione also ordered Oswald to undergo a mental health assessment.

Oswald’s attorney, Michelle Barnoff, told the judge that her client had already undergone a psychological evaluation. Forchione said that would suffice as long as he could confirm the exam.

Both Oswald and Naturile must complete a victim awareness program. Naturile was represented by attorney Kenneth Frame of the Stark County Public Defender’s Office.

Forchione warned the co-defendants he was reserving a three year-prison sentence in case they violated probation or got into further legal trouble.

Reach Ed Balint at 330-580-8315, ed.balint@cantonrep.com or on Twitter @ebalintREP

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